“A splendour of miscellaneous spirits” John Ruskin. The Venice Carnival.

 

“In the winter, Venice is like an abandoned theatre. The play is finished, but the echoes remain.” Arbit Blatas

“I am like a caricature of myself and I like that. It is like a mask. And for me the Carnival of Venice lasts all year long.” Karl Lagerfeld

“Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go.” Truman Capote

“There is something so different in
Venice from any other place in
the world, that you leave at
once all accustomed habits and
everyday sights to enter an
enchanted garden.” Mary Shelley

“It is always assumed that Venice is the ideal place for a honeymoon. This is a grave error. To live in Venice or even to visit it means that you fall in love with the city itself. There is nothing left over in your heart for anyone else.” Peggy Guggenheim

“To build a city where it is impossible to build a city is madness in itself, but to build there one of the most elegant and grandest of cities is the madness of genius.” Alexander Herzen

“A splendour of miscellaneous spirits.”  John Ruskin

“Venice is the most romantic place in the world but it’s even better
when there is no one around.”  Woody Allen

Time to party, party!

Notting Hill Carnival, London UK

You know that the summer’s almost at an end when the Notting Hill Carnival appears in the calendar! These years seem to fly by! This year, however, I found myself unable to attend Britain’s Biggest Street Party…..boo hoo…there’s something about the way all five senses seem to explode all at once…..the BBQ corn-on-the-cob, the pounding music forcing its way out through the oversized loud speakers making your heart literally pond in your chest, that crushing feeling as you find yourself unable to move in any direction so all you can do is lift the camera over your head, click the shutter and hope you get a good pic!

With the darker nights and wet, windy days upon us, I thought I’d share a small collection of past images (2010-2014) from Europe’s largest street fest . Here’s to happy viewing…of shaking limbs, chocolate smeared faces, jiving policemen-  I still have pink paint embedded both on my back pack and my lenses!

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The carnival began in 1964 as a way for Afro-Caribbean communities to celebrate their own cultures and traditions. The following is an extract from the Notting Hill Carnival website http://www.thenottinghillcarnival.com and sums up its history wonderfully.

"At the roots of the Notting Hill Carnival are the Caribbean carnivals of the early 19th century – a particularly strong tradition in Trinidad – which were all about celebrating the abolition of slavery and the slave trade. The very first carnival was an attempt to showcase the steel band musicians who played in the Earls Court of London every Weekend. When the bands paraded through the streets of Notting Hill, they drew black residents out on to the streets, reminding them of the Caribbean homes they had left behind.

In the days of abolition, there was a strong element of parody in the songs and dances Trinidadians performed. Having been forbidden to hold festivals of their own during the period of slavery, they now took full advantage of the relative new freedoms the ending of slavery brought them. Dressing up in costumes that mimicked the European fashions of their former masters, even whitening their faces with flour or wearing white masks, they established a tradition that continues in the costume-making of today’s Notting Hill Carnival. The proper name for this aspect of the Carnival is Mas (derived from Masquerade)"

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